28 TVBEurope Beyond HD:Future Directions


www.tvbeurope.com April 2013 In association with: HPA’s ‘super-sized’ Tech Retreat By Carolyn Giardina


PANELS AND exhibitions placed emphasis on the quest for quality — from 4K to 48fps — during the Hollywood Post Alliance Tech Retreat late February at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells in Palm Springs, California. “Everywhere we turn


something is bigger and better — 4K, 8K, high frame rates, increased screen size,” said HPA VP Jerry Pierce. “But we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are delivering stories, and the technology is just the enabler. Technologies are the tools we provide storytellers to tell more engaging and rich stories.” “In our search for quality, we


are looking to hand the creative community expansive new tools,” HPA president Leon Silverman said, though he pointed out that more data also means bigger files. “And they do cost more and require more storage.” How much storage? To make The Hobbit at 48fps, for example, Peter Jackson’s team generated 6-12TB of original camera data, daily, on a shoot that lasted 266 days, reported Park Road Post’s head of technology Phil Oatley. TV producers will similarly grapple with the data dilemma


engage in the dialogue about the next big thing with a great deal of energy, and the desire to move quickly,” he says. “But our business is global and looking at our growth statistics tells us that the largest growth is coming from developing nations. 4K, cloud computing and so many things are very exciting, but the thing that keeps the lights on and keeps us interested in developing and pushing the bubble is satisfying the market needs in those countries too.”


Karl Schubert, chief technology officer & senior vice president, Grass Valley Karl Schubert was keen to highlight the merits of being format agnostic and he focussed on the market friendly aspects of current trends. “One is leveraging the cost


efficiencies of off-the-shelf technologies combined with sophisticated software and


as dialogue surrounding Ultra HD continues. Sony Pictures Television’s senior VP of technical operations Phil Squyres reported that the company plans to shoot at least three TV pilots in 4K this season. The cameras had not been selected on all of the pilots at the time of the retreat, but he said the Sony F65 and F55 had already been chosen for certain productions. The F65 is also used on


SPT’s comedy Save Me, drama Masters of Sex, and a Michael J Fox as yet untitled new sitcom. SPT’s drama Justified is shot with the Red Epic. Sony started its 4K testing


by shooting in 4K and mastering in HD (while archiving the 4K elements), but has been moving toward 4K finishing. “Remastering costs twice as much, because you are doing the work twice,” said Sqyures as to the motivation to post new programmes in 4K. He finds a 4K production can be accomplished on the same schedule as one in HD. More data of course is the challenge; in SPT’s case, it uses Sony’s 4K-ready post facility Colorworks, which offers FilmLight’s Baselight and a data pipeline that is also used for features.


firmware specifically designed for the needs of 24/7 mission critical broadcasters,” he says. “A second trend is enabling production, post, and distribution operations to merge together onto a single platform — by combining production tools, device control, and content management into a single, highly configurable multitasking UI, new workflow efficiencies and the creation of once/publish everywhere can be achieved. The third trend sees broadcasters moving to streaming video-over-IP. “Our view of new production


formats and infrastructures is that being format agnostic is the smartest approach. This means that, whether its HD, 3G/1080p, 4K, or 8K, or some new format not yet envisioned, we can take care of any format consumers want to consume and providers want to provide. We will not be tied to format adoption rates like other manufacturers,” he adds.


HPA president Leon Silverman (left) and the


EBU's Hans Hoffmann at the 2013 Retreat in Palm Springs, California


While Sony has been


working to create more 4K content, speakers on a broadcast panel demonstrated a more cautious approach to Ultra HD. Clyde Smith, senior VP New Technology at Fox Network Engineering and Operations, predicted 4K would have a “slow growth curve” in television. Discussion from broadcasters focused


Schubert believes that users


look for solutions that will help, based on their business and operational models. They assume or hope that the vendor of choice will support appropriate standards at appropriate times. “Media organisations should


always choose the right tool for the right job. The topics mentioned are trends worth observing, but we believe that how new technologies are used is what is vitally important. In live production, news, and play out, it’s how those technologies are commercialised,” he says. “We believe that creating production workflow efficiencies is the key trend in these areas.” Looking at Ultra HD


production by broadcasters, Schubert sees sport as the good reason for making the jump. “Episodic and commercials are a maybe,” he says. “It all depends on the need. 65mm IMAX film delivers more


more on topics such as the second screen. Among the HPA exhibitors


were 1 Beyond, talking about its Wrangler workflow for cameras including the F65, F55, and Red Epic; Blackmagic Design, showing its Cinema Camera and HyperDeck Studio Pro SSD recorder; Canon, whose cameras included its 4K EOS C500 and EOS-1D C; and Digital


resolution than 35mm film, but you don't see it being used in episodic or commercial production. If creating 4K content makes sense, people will use it. If it doesn't, they won't. “The pace at which consumers care about 4K will depend on their ability to see the difference in what they are viewing. For most though, there needs to be no cost delta. I believe that certain companies will strongly push professional 4K because they need to push consumer 4K TVs,” he adds. “As an industry however, we don't want to treat 4K like 3D where it's this year's fad. But for a format that was just recently named, you can't expect an entire ecosystem to appear overnight. “What makes sense in live


production for 4K — the entire production chain, or islands that feed content to a 2K workflow? The real truth is that 4K in live will be used for specific


Rapids, featuring extensions to its Kayak workflow. Also on hand was Elemental


Technologies, demonstrating video processing technologies aimed at simplifying and automating multiscreen workflows; Rohde & Schwarz, highlighting version 5.3 of Clipster with HFR support; and Sony, featuring its CineAlta tools including those for F65 and F55 workflows.


environments, enabling selective zooms (as will 8K). An example was CBS' use of For-A's FT-One 4K camera during the Super Bowl for replay analysis.” Grass Valley’s determination


to remain at the forefront of media technology relies on its next-generation nonlinear production platform, GV Stratus, as well as next- generation hardware platforms. “Using the latest IT technologies and fast IP packet transport and switching, the majority of our future products will offer modular and software upgradable platforms to support any production format,” says Schubert. “The true future for the broadcast infrastructure is to be format agnostic. When 4K or 8K become significant, being format agnostic means the format doesn't matter, except in acquisition and final distribution. The one real limiting factor will be physical plant cabling.”


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